Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for producing a plastic profile having a reinforcement, the reinforcement being passed uninterruptedly through a positioning device and a mold then following in the direction of production, and the plastic profile with the reinforcement embedded therein being pulled by a pulling device through the positioning device and the mold in the direction of production, or a method for producing a plastic profile having a reinforcement, the reinforcement with the plastic embedding the latter being passed through a mold in the direction of production. Furthermore, the invention relates to an apparatus for producing a plastic profile having a reinforcement, with a closed mold, completely surrounding the plastic profile, and at least one positioning device, for the reinforcement of the plastic profile arranged upstream of the mold in the direction of production of the plastic profile, or an apparatus for producing a plastic profile having a reinforcement, with a mold that brings the plastic profile with the reinforcement lying therein into the desired form.
Prior Art
Reinforced plastic profiles have an uninterrupted reinforcement of, in particular, fibers, woven, braided and/or knitted fabrics, which are embedded in the plastic as a matrix. The plastic may be a thermoset, or else a thermoplastic. Reinforced plastic profiles are mostly produced uninterruptedly, in particular continuously, in a strand. This takes place with preference by the extrusion or pultrusion process. In this case, the reinforcement is pulled through a positioning device and subsequently passed through a mold. In the mold, the reinforcement and the plastic are brought into the desired profile. The plastic profile leaving the mold is pulled off by a pulling device following the mold in the direction of production. In this case, the reinforcement is pulled through the positioning device and the plastic with the reinforcement embedded therein is pulled through the mold.
In the case of the previously known production of reinforced plastic profiles, the positionally exact introduction of a non-unidirectional reinforcement into the plastic is particularly problematical. The tensile forces exerted on the reinforcement by the pulling device lead to distortions of the non-unidirectional reinforcement, such as in particular woven, nonwoven and braided fabrics. This has the effect that the reinforcement does not have the desired positioning in the plastic profile to be produced. This applies in particular in the case of a reinforcement with a large fiber volume.
Furthermore, previously reinforced plastic profiles with a non-straight, in particular arcuate, shape are only possible with molds that are specifically adapted to the shape of the reinforced plastic profile to be produced.